The game-changing £100m signing who could drag Man Utd back into Champions League next season

It is, if we’re being honest, hardly a ringing endorsement of his former club. Amid a slew of speculation linking teenage Benfica midfielder Joao Neves with a transfer to Manchester United this summer, former Old Trafford employee Nemanja Matic has piped up to urge the starlet to pump his proverbial brakes a little.

Speaking to O Jogo over in Portugal, the Serbian enforcer said: "I think it’s too early for him to take that step of leaving. If I were him, he’d stay at Benfica for a few more years to play in the Champions League and to mature more. I’m sure his time will come, so there’s no need to rush. Joao is already at a great club at the moment. I’m sure his future at Benfica will be very good. I think it’s too early to leave, but of course, in the end, it’s always his decision."

Now - thinly-veiled Champions League dig aside - Matic’s mutterings feel like more of a comment on the tendency to rush emerging players towards the biggest clubs in Europe than it is an out-and-out attack on United and their suitability as a destination for Neves. Still, from the perspective of the Red Devils, it will be disappointing to hear one of their alumni talk down the prospect of them signing a player who, based on the early evidence of his career, could make a significant impact on their fortunes.

The rumours are fairly straightforward; United, in a bid to fortify the centre of their midfield, have identified Neves as a target of some priority ahead of the summer transfer window. The prodigious talent, still only 19, would reportedly cost somewhere in the region of £100 million, and the Red Devils’ newest investor/sugar daddy Sir Jim Ratcliffe is supposedly more than willing to pay that kind of figure for a player who has racked up a half century of club appearances this season, and who already has five senior Portugal caps to his name.

Given United’s current situation, it is not difficult to see why they have bought into the hype surrounding Neves so readily. For one thing, Erik ten Hag and his side find themselves in a precarious position, one slip away from another barren campaign and facing the very real possibility of a lowest ever Premier League finish. For another, their midfield is, at best, patchy.

While the likes of Bruno Fernandes and boy prince Kobbie Mainoo feel like worthy inclusions in a side of United’s apparent ambitions, there are others who are sorely lacking in the quality, consistency, or drive to make for viable long-term solutions to Ten Hag’s lingering concerns. Casemiro plays most weeks as if he is towing a caravan in his wake, Sofyan Amrabat has not shown anywhere near enough to suggest that his loan stint should be made permanent, Mason Mount has endured a nightmarish debut campaign in Manchester, Christian Eriksen feels like a talent on the wane, and Scott McTominay blows hot and cold and everything in between. In other words, new acquisitions are needed.

And a statement signing of Neves’ ilk would go a long way towards not only restoring United’s reputation as a potential Champions League qualification contender, but also proving that Ratcliffe isn’t just a peddler of idle promises. If United are to ever clamber their way back on top, this is the calibre of recruitment that they need to be aiming for. Even if it upsets Nemanja Matic a little bit.